How to Write a Resume that Actually Works
One resume to rule them all
Most people write resumes wrong.
Maybe that’s too harsh. Most people don’t write resumes that are as good as they could be.
Honestly, I can’t blame you. There’s so much conflicting advice out there that I once wrote a LinkedIn post about it, which garnered such a high number of views that I decided to start a Substack.
Let’s talk about getting your resume right, so you can get off of the LinkedIn treadmill and into the career of your dreams.
Let’s start with this mindset shift:
You need to think of yourself as a product on Amazon, available for purchase.
Everything else about your resume relies on this point. If you see yourself as innately special, someone that a company should hire just because you applied, you’re going to be disappointed and posting aggressive things about recruiters on Reddit.
Think of the last product that you purchased on Amazon. You know, the squirrel finger puppet set. Before purchasing that ultimate Mother’s Day gift, what did you do?
· You knew you needed something.
· You had some criteria.
· You knew how much you’d be willing to pay.
You put in “Weird Gifts” in the search bar on Amazon, and got a huge list of results.
When a company posts a job, it works the same way.
· They know they need someone.
· They have criteria.
· The know how much they’d be willing to pay.
They post a job listing, and receive huge lists of people expressing interest in the position.
See what I mean?
So if you’re staring at a blank Word doc, wondering how to distill your entire career into a single page, here’s the truth: those who do the best job of selling themselves get the job.
Let’s talk about what that means.
1. Start With Strategy, Not Style
Before you write a single bullet point, ask yourself this:
Who’s reading this, and what do they care about?
If you're applying for a job, your resume isn’t for you. It’s for the recruiter, the hiring manager, the overworked human scanning for reasons to move forward (or move on). In six seconds, I should be able to determine what you've been doing for the past few years (school, jobs, etc.), and then decide if I should look further.
What we care about:
· Easy to scan, and then easy to find more depth after the initial scan.
· Clear headings.
· If you have a degree or not
What we don’t care about:
· Pictures. (Unless you’re a cyclops, I don’t care what you look like.)
· Colors. (White and black is ok – exceptions for those going into the creative fields)
With those in mind, sit down to write.
2. Focus on What You Did, Not What You Were Responsible For
Now that you’re writing the resume, think about the role that you’re going for. What’s important for you to have accomplished to be a candidate? The good thing is that the job description will tell you all you need to know. You’re going to use the job posting to tell the company how you’re a good fit. Note: If you can’t…then you’re not a good fit.
Avoid saying what you were responsible for. “I was responsible for _____” really doesn’t mean anything to us; it just means that you had a name badge that allowed you into the building. What does mean something is what you were able to accomplish.
Your experience section should go like this:
I did X, with Y, resulting in Z.
Example:
❌ Responsible for managing a team
✅ Led a team of 5 to exceed quarterly sales targets by 25%
Recruiters and hiring leaders need more info than IF you did something. We want to know how it went and what was accomplished. It’s possible to have two people do the same job but one does it drastically more shittily than the other, right? That’s why the extra info is important; to separate you from the others.
Of course, having numbers to back up your experience is key. If you don’t have them, though, do NOT make them up. If you can’t back up a number that you claimed, you’re dead in the water.
3. Cut the Fluff. Keep the Truth.
Your resume needs to be long enough to explain, but short enough to understand.
For some early-in-career folks, this means 1 page. For Senior folks like me, 2 pages.
The one exception is for Executives, but even then, 3 pages is probably sufficient.
Anything longer than that is torture for the reader. And yes, you can say it beautifully. Just don’t bury the lead.
And chronological order, please.
4. Have Reviews and Recommendations
Remember, you’re a product right now, trying to get a company to pay for your services. When was the last time you purchased something without checking the reviews on it? Never, right?
If you can find the space, include quotes from your recommendations directly on your resume. Your interviewers are going to look directly at your resume when they talk to you.
Wouldn’t it be great if they were looking at someone else saying:
“I worked with Frank at Klopmeyer, he’s a guy you want in your corner when revenues are slow!”
Or
“Sherry is a great communicator; she got everyone on the same page when they were reading from different books.”
Instead of:
“Hobbies: Second-hand Cattery, Tractor Pulls, Day drinking.”
Also, no one cares about your hobbies but you and your friends. Don’t put them on your resume.
Your resume doesn’t need to be perfect, it just needs to do an excellent job of selling YOU as a candidate. It needs to help a busy person quickly understand your value, your experience, and your potential fit. Again, think of yourself as a product on Amazon. You need to grab attention and give a company a reason to buy.
So no fluff. No lies. No Comic Sans.
Just you, at your professional best.
Now go get that job.
Your Pal,
TJ